His first career grand slam tied the game in the sixth inning and was the highlight of his first career four-hit game.

It wasn't enough to carry the Phillies to victory, as a 10th-inning run made the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5 winners. But Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg hoped the big night might be a springboard for Asche.

"I look at this as a possible breakout game for Cody,' Sandberg said. "He played some defense out there, he swung the bat well. He can build on that, feel good about that."

Sandberg hinted it may even encourage him to start the left-handed-hitting Asche in Wednesday's game at Toronto against tough Blue Jays southpaw Mark Buehrle.

"I'll give that a lot of consideration," Sandberg said.

Asche was batting .191 after the April 23 game at Dodger Stadium, but Tuesday's 4 for 4 hiked his average to .257. His four RBIs were also the most in his 77 big-league games.

"I'm just trying to see the ball up in the zone, where I can attack it, try not to chase too much," Asche said. " ... You want to build on all the positives and keep moving forward. You don't want to take one step forward and two back, so you've just got to keep working."

He gave the Phillies a chance to win it in the ninth when he singled with one out. Asche then went to second on a wild pitch and third on pinch-hitter Jimmy Rollins' groundout. But Ben Revere couldn't beat out a bouncer to second baseman Chris Getz and the rally was foiled.

Melky Cabrera then singled to open the Toronto 10th off Antonio Bastardo (3-2). After going to third on Jose Bautista's single away from the defensive shift, he scored on Juan Francisco's sacrifice fly. It was not particularly deep, but center fielder Revere's throw offered little threat and was cut off by first baseman Ryan Howard next to the pitcher's mound.

The Phillies went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

"That was a tough game to lose after battling back the way we did," said Sandberg, who bemoaned several fundamental flaws that plagued the Phillies.

They included Galvis and second baseman Chase Utley, while in a defensive shift that had Utley stationed in the traditional shortstop position, not communicating on a grounder that both let pass, Galvis running into a rundown that resulted in a double play and Galvis also failing to cover second base after a throw home from right field.

The Phillies (15-16) remained in last place in the jumbled National League East but just 2 1/2 games behind first-place Atlanta. They and the Blue Jays now move to Toronto (16-17) for two more games at the Rogers Centre Wednesday and Thursday after the Jays won two here.

Phillies starter Cole Hamels struggled through the six innings that comprised the third start of his delayed season before being rescued by some timely offense. Relievers Jeff Manship, Jake Diekman, Jonathan Papelbon followed with a no-hit inning apiece.

The Phillies trailed 5-0 before ending a 22-inning scoreless drought by scoring a run in the sixth inning on Carlos Ruiz's double, Utley's single and Howard's RBI single that scored Ruiz, all with no outs.

Jays starter Drew Hutchison then got two outs before walking John Mayberry Jr., pinch hitting for Galvis, who started in place of Rollins (sore groin).

Asche then lined Hutchison's pitch into the right-field seats for his first big-league grand slam, with an announced crowd of 26,057 inviting him out of the dugout for a quick acknowledgment afterward. He obliged.

"That was pretty cool," Asche said.

Hamels was making just his third start of 2014 after his spring training had a belated start because of biceps tendinitis. A slow starter of late anyway, Hamels found his first May outing no more appealing than his two April efforts.

The left-hander allowed 10 hits, including two homers, over six innings and struck out six, once again failing in his bid to win his 100th career game. Two of the hits were by Hutchison, just the third Jays pitcher to have two hits in a game.

Hamels is seeking to become just the eighth pitcher in the Phillies' 151-season history to win 100 career games, which would tie him with Al Orth (1895-1901). Hall-of-Famer Steve Carlton tops the list with 241 of his 329 career wins coming as a Phillie.

"They're an aggressive team," Hamels said, "so you don't want to throw pitches down the middle but at the same time you can't try to be too fine. The situations I was getting in trouble with was trying to be too fine, trying to really be on the corners, but I was missing and having to give in and throw strikes right to their strengths."

Hamels had been pushed back two days from his scheduled start Sunday after having flu symptoms and said he hoped getting back on a regular schedule will help him rediscover his groove.

Edwin Encarnacion's solo homer to start the second inning gave the Blue Jays an early 1-0 edge. Three more hits, including Colby Rasmus' two-run homer, made it 4-0 in fourth.

Steve Tolleson's two-out double then scored Juan Francisco, who'd singled to start the Toronto sixth, to make it 5-0. Hamels appeared destined for his third defeat in as many 2014 starts until the subsequent bottom-of-the-sixth uprising.